


Comforts of Eating

by myravenspirit



Series: Growing Affections [3]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25271470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myravenspirit/pseuds/myravenspirit
Summary: Another two prompt ideas done from the Tumblr prompts by screamibgdodo. Rin is thirteen and picks fruit for Sesshomaru. Will he finally let her see him eat? In this story she is engaged to him, but that is it. These prompts are to explore their growing relationship and bond.Re-edited September 18/20.
Relationships: Rin & Sesshoumaru (InuYasha)
Series: Growing Affections [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1929718
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	Comforts of Eating

**Author's Note:**

> Re-edited by me September 18/20.
> 
> The following two prompts by screamibgdodo on Tumblr:
> 
> 1.Picking the best fruits and cut them to small squares pieces for him to eat.
> 
> 2.Letting her watch him eat, strange and a little bit unnerving as it may be
> 
> Enjoy!

Sesshomaru watched as Rin lifted her hand up, silk sleeve falling down to reveal her thin wrist as she grabbed some nashi from the tree's branches and placed it gently down into her basket, which she had settled on her hip. He watched with mild curiosity as to all the fruit she was gathering. One or two pieces of ringo, kaki, a yuzu, a couple sudachi, some momos and umes. She walked over to another tree and broke off a stem of budos, and then headed to a patch of ichigos. She set the basket down beside her on the ground as she knelt and began picking the red fruit.

He wondered why he agreed to let her plunder the palace gardens so. He could feel his mother's bemused gaze on him and Rin as she watched from her study's balcony above the garden.

"Rin, my darling girl, are you truly going to eat all that fruit?" His mother called out with a teasing smirk.

Rin looked up and waved and smiled, "Hai!"

He had promised his brother and the two mikos to return Rin to the village by sundown. It amused Sesshomaru that his brother was so protective of Rin. She was treated more like sister by his brother and the miko than he was ever treated as family by his own flesh and blood. Though he had not blamed Inuyasha and Kagome for taking a liking to Rin, she was as bright as the sun and endearing to all. Even his mother had fallen prey to Rin's sweetness, and he knew how stubborn she was. 

It was midday already and she was still plundering the garden. He left A-Un as insurance with his brother. Jaken had voiced his feelings of being insulted by the slight. Inuyasha merely punched his servant and Kaede offered Jaken tea and a poultice for his head. Jaken remained behind in the village as Sesshomaru wrapped an arm around Rin's waist and Kagome gave them the thumbs up. Rin flushed red and Inuyasha started teasing Rin, fangs peeking out as he grinned. Sesshomaru ignored them and glided up into the air and flew to the palace with Rin securely held to his chest. A resounding shout of "osuwari!" could be heard as well as the large thudding noise of his brother falling to the ground as Inuyasha continued to tease Rin from below. He heard Rin giggle softly. A sweet melody to his ears.

He had promised after all to let her see the garden's new extension.

 _Haha-ue, you made this garden so Rin could have all the fruit she likes. Is this your act of acceptance of my future bride?_ He questioned his mother's actions until Rin walked up to him and smiled. Her presence calmed his racing thoughts and brought him back into his moment with her.

"You have enough to feed more than yourself. You may bring some back to the village," he told her.

"Oh? She has to go back, Sesshomaru? Darling Rin, you should stay here with Haha-ue! I will make a fine lady out of you! Sesshomaru will surely be pleased" his mother shouted down at them. _Haha-ue_ _, you are bothersome,_ Sesshomaru internally seethed and pulled Rin a little closer, claws wrapped around her elbow loosely.

Rin blushed softly, which earned a laugh from his perceptive mother up above on her balcony and Sesshomaru looked at his still growing betrothed. He had no interest in bedding her yet as ningen men would have wanted to. After all she was still growing. Both physically and emotionally. But she had agreed to the engagement, an informal one he promised. He wanted her to make a true decision when she turned fifteen. They would marry at sixteen if she truly felt the same way as she did now.

He wondered if she would change her mind. He doubted it by the scent she gave off, embarrassment but something else. Her scent assured him that his irreplaceable Rin would one day be his Rin no Kimi. He felt pleased that she blushed about him and their changing relationship.

"Come along Rin, you can eat some of the fruit now," He spoke as gently as he could manage, the tone was unfamiliar to him still. He turned his back to her and led her to _his_ study, away from his prying mother's gaze.

The space was quaint. The shelves were filled with old scrolls and tomes that his mother and father had collected over the centuries before his birth and after. His father had requested that Sesshomaru's study faced the east so as to have the sun's light into the evening since he liked to read into the night as a young pup. His mother didn't like the idea of having to walk the distance across the palace's grounds to get to Sesshomaru's study. He wondered now if his father had known how unrelenting his mother could be, so gave Sesshomaru some distance from his mother.

He stepped to the side of the door and noticed that it was clean and quiet, servants tended to it in his long absence. Rin stepped into the room and smiled at all of the texts along the wall. He idly thought he would tuck a book into her basket so that she could read one from his collection.

Rin set the basket down on the table. He ordered a servant outside the room to bring a knife, a bowl of water and a plate as he slid the door shut and walked to the low table in the middle of the room. He knelt down on his cushion as Rin sat down on hers across from him.

While they waited in comfortable silence in the room, Rin looked at everything she collected. He watched as she smiled at her collection of fruits.

"Sesshomaru-sama! These are some beautiful fruits! Are you sure you don't want to eat some with me?" Rin asked with a hopeful smile, brown eyes glancing up at him under thick lashes.

It was always her smile that made him resolute in his decision to pursue his heart's desire rather than listening to his past promises of conquest and power. _I will not have any other but my Rin if that is her decision._

He leaned forward onto the table with his elbow on the hard oak. A budo fell off its stem and rolled toward him as Rin watched it drift away from her. He picked it up and popped it into his mouth. It was sweet. He chewed it slowly and swallowed. "Hai, Rin. You will cut the fruit into squares if I am to eat it though," he smirked as he spoke. He wondered if she would do as he told her.

She smiled so brightly he thought a part of his soul would be seared by it. "Hai, Rin will make perfect squares for her Sesshomaru-sama!"

He noticed her possessive in front of his name. _I am_ _pleased by that immensely._ He had also thought it amusing she referred to herself in the third person, a habit the priestess was trying to get rid of. He found that it was easier for Rin to speak about how she felt in the third person, especially of her traumatic experiences as a child.

He knew all of her horrors. Rin never could describe it as a child as 'I saw my brothers and parents murdered by bandits.' No, in reality it had been, _"Sesshomaru-sama, Rin's parents and older brothers were slain by bandits. They had Rin hide in the chicken coop buried under straw. Rin heard their screams."_ It had been too much for her when she was too young to describe it as an experience she herself in fact experienced.

"Milord." The door opened and a peacock demoness walked in and set the tray down. "Does milord and the young lady need anything else?" She asked with her head bowed to them.

"Iie, you are dismissed," Sesshomaru said without glancing at her.

Rin smiled at the demoness. "Arigato," Rin sweetly responded.

A small gasp from the demoness, eyes shifting between the ningen and daiyoukai, before she straightened up and took quick foot steps out of the room, sliding the door shut. Sesshomaru wondered how quickly gossip would fly through the palace before his mother put an end to it.

He closed his eyes in thought before opening them. Rin was washing the fruit and laying them on a cloth to dry before she cut her selected pieces of fruit for him. She chose each piece with care. He noticed that she did not touch the yuzu or sudachi. He knew those were sour and he did not care for sour foods. He never ate before Rin and yet she already seemed to know that he would like the sweeter fruits. Ichigos and budos were on the cloth along with a ringo, kaki, and momo.

He did not have the heart to lecture her about thanking the staff. Not when she looked so content and happy, softly humming to herself as picked up the plate and put it in front of herself. She pulled her long dark hair back and out of her way.

Rin felt his amber eyes watching her as she chose each fruit and washed them. She knew she shouldn't have thanked the servant. But it was habit to do so.

 _Sesshomaru-sama, gomen'nasai, I have embarrassed_ you, she glumly thought for a moment before internally smacking herself in the face and shaking her head. He did not lecture her so it was going to be okay.

She grabbed the knife and looked at the perfect steel of the blade. A good knife to slice fruit. She lifted the stem of budo and plucked a couple off and started to cut each one into perfect squares. The budo were large enough to cut a cube from it's oblong surface. She knew her Sesshomaru-sama would only want the sweetest fruits. She felt that someone of his calibre and station would only want the sweetest foods, not the sour type that could make your mouth pucker and leave a long after taste in your mouth and burning down into your throat. _Sweet fruits only!_ She reminded herself.

She smiled to herself. She had gained many skills while living in Kaede's village for the past five years. If he desired meat, Rin could easily skin a rabbit and roast it for him or even butcher an entire boar. Inuyasha had taught her many skills of hunting large animals. He had taken her under his wing as much as Kaede had, if not more so. He knew how the wild called to her, it was the same call for him. 

Deer was easy for her too. She was well trained in the bow now and had shot one down the previous week while hunting with Miroku and Shippo. Miroku patted her shoulder and praised her skills with a smile, _"You will be fine in whichever path you choose, Rin-chan."_ She thought she saw pride and sadness all at once in blue-grey eyes. Like Inuyasha, she loved Miroku like an older brother. Miroku had watched over her too since she came to live in the village, he knew about the engagement and always offered words of wisdom to her.

She promised herself to never eat fox out of respect for her dear friend Shippo. Foxes were off limits.

"Rin, you are smiling. Are you enjoying cutting fruit so much for me?" Sesshomaru asked her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Rin looked up at him and smiled, "Hai! But I was also thinking this knife is perfect. Inuyasha-sama has taught me how to hunt big game and showed me how to butcher the meat. But this knife is much better than any knife I have ever held before!" She twirled the blade with a flick of wrist and saw Sesshoumaru's calculating amber gaze watching the smooth movement.

Sesshomaru stared at her. "Inuyasha has shown you how to hunt?" He asked with a raised brow.

Rin nodded and picked up a ringo and started coring it and then cutting it perfectly as well, setting it on the empty plate with the cut budo. "Hai, I asked because I wanted to be more useful once I returned to you," Rin explained.

Images of her splashing about as a child with Jaken catching the fish came to mind. That was a fond memory of her and Jaken, one of many. Yes, Jaken acted indifferent to her but he allowed her antics and even went along with them at times. _Probably to make sure he was not beaten by Sesshomaru-sama,_ Rin thought of how often Jaken complained but would entertain her once Sesshomaru sent him a subtle glare.

"I, Sesshomaru would provide for you," he stated simply and Rin almost sliced her finger off. Thankfully, her knife only hit the plate with a resounding clink in the now quiet room and still room.

She flushed red and felt her heart pound in her chest. _Why did such a statement affect me? Does providing for me mean he will hunt for me?_

"Rin? You are quite red, are you unwell?" She lifted her head and saw amber eyes glittering in the afternoon light. He had a smirk on his lips, smug and pleased that she had such a reaction to his words. The worse bit was that she couldn't lie to him, ever. He could tell the scent of a lie by the increase of perspiration, followed by the change in the rhythm of the heart. It was easier to lie to Jaken and Kagome.

She shook her head as she spoke, "Iie. I do not know why such a statement affected me, but does that mean you will hunt for me?"

It was very manly. She had seen Inuyasha hunt and Kagome always looked at him hungrily when they returned as he set the carcass down. _Will I look at Sesshomaru-sama like that?_ Even Sango looked at Miroku quite pleased when he brought home barrels of rice, dried goods and fresh fruits, fish, and meat when he hunted with Rin.

 _Do wives merely want their husbands to keep them fed?_ She wanted more than that, but she also liked the idea of Sesshomaru hunting for her.

"I will hunt for you, Rin," Sesshomaru said as he eyed her with narrowed amber eyes, not menacingly but she felt like she was being studied. 

Rin felt her heart flutter and she slid the cut ringo onto his plate, creating a second line along the budo. She grabbed a momo, then the kaki, and finished with the ichigos in the contentment of their comfortable silence. Words were not always needed between them.

She smiled at the beautifully cut squares. _Perfect!_

Sesshomaru pulled the plate closer and Rin leaned forward to watch him eat. He raised an eyebrow at her.

He felt unnerved and strange. It wasn't uncomfortable, but she wasn't eating. He was accustomed to eating in privacy or with his mother when he was young.

 _But we will be married in three years. I must learn to tolerate her presence while eating._ Sesshomaru reminded himself of these facts.

He picked up a cubed ringo and looked at it. It was indeed perfect. She had complimented the knife, but really it was her skills that needed to be complimented. He ate the cube and enjoyed the crisp sweetness of the ringo before trying a piece of momo.

Somehow she knew his palette of taste perfectly.

She seemed pleased as he continued to eat. "Is Sesshomaru-sama pleased?" Rin asked with brown eye glittering in the afternoon light that filtered through the open window.

He nodded, "Hai, I am very pleased." He popped a budo into his mouth next.

 _"I will hunt for you, Rin."_ He had said those words, moments earlier, and he meant them. He would bring her home large game if that pleased her or small game if she wanted. It was a very primal urge to go hunt deer for her right in that moment to see if she would be pleased with him. She probably would have thanked him and offered to butcher it for their supper. He would want to see her cook it for him, just medium rare. Meat was not something he indulged in much, but if Rin butchered the meat as good as the fruit he would gladly eat it.

It didn't feel strange or weird to have her sit with him as he ate more. The strangeness and unease left him as he lifted a piece of momo into his mouth. He then pushed the plate into the centre of the table. "Eat some with me, Rin," he told her and she looked at him with surprise and then she smiled and grabbed a cut budo and popped it into her mouth.

"Sesshomaru-sama, this is the sweetest budo I have ever tasted," Rin sighed as she smiled at him.

He was glad that she had enjoyed the fruit as much as him.

 _We will be wed in three years, Rin. I will share every meal with you._ He watched her, feeling content in that moment. The moment was short and sweet and he knew he would have to bring her back to the little village. _Soon, Rin no Kimi, we will be together._

Rin leaned over the table and Sesshomaru stared at her fingers. Between her thumb and forefinger was a piece of ringo. He smirked and leaned in and bit the end of the piece. Her face is flushed and she sat back and stared at her fingers. He amusingly wondered if he was supposed to take the piece from her with his fingers and not his teeth. _She is amusing to tease,_ he thought as he popped an ichigo into his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:
> 
> Nashi – pear
> 
> Ringo – apple
> 
> Kaki – persimmon
> 
> Yuzu – yellow sour fruit like a lemon
> 
> Sudachi – green sour fruit like a lime
> 
> Momo – peach
> 
> Ume – plum
> 
> Budo – grape
> 
> Ichigo – strawberry


End file.
